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The Hellenic Air Force received its first F-16 aircraft of a new purchase program in ceremonies 2 April at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. The delivery is the first of sixty Advanced Block 52+ F-16C and D models that Greece will receive. The Advanced Block 52+ F-16s for Greece have the latest technology and capabilities in an air combat fighter, including the APG-68(V)9 multimode radar, modern core avionics and color cockpit, a helmet-mounted cueing system, an advanced integrated internal countermeasures suite, conformal fuel tanks, an F100-PW-229 engine, and a 48,000-pound maximum takeoff gross weight capacity. The two-seat D models have a dorsal equipment compartment and a rear cockpit configured for a weapons system operator.
This purchase program, Peace Xenia III, is the largest Greek acquisition yet, raising the total number of F-16s ordered by Greece to 140. The HAF first selected the F-16C/D Block 30 in 1987. Greece has been a Lockheed Martin customer since 1943, when it acquired its first squadron of Martin A-30 Baltimore Mk IIIs, IVs, and Vs.
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